The Untouchable Derek Cross

chapter 1

Derek stepped out of Blue gate Prison and stopped. Rain poured down, soaking through his clothes, cold against his skin. He tilted his head back, breathing in deep. The air tasted different out here.

“Finally. After all these years of suffering, I'm out.”

He stood there for a moment, rain streaming down his face, washing away five years of hell. But the memories stayed sharp. Her voice, her face, the way she smiled when she told him the truth.

Five years ago.

Derek worked at the Morrison family company, leading a research project that consumed his life. Four years of testing, failing, starting over. Then the breakthrough came. A drug formula that could cure diseases no one else could touch. The whole company celebrated. They threw a party. Derek drank too much. When he woke up, he was in bed with Claire Morrison, the boss's daughter.

The Morrisons didn't waste time. They cornered him, told him he had to marry her. Derek refused. He had a girlfriend, Megan, the woman he loved. But the Morrisons didn't care. They pressured him, threatened him, backed him into a corner.

Then Claire told him she was pregnant. His baby, she said.

Derek felt trapped. He has not other choice than to marry her.

Weeks later, Claire got caught up in something ugly. She'd been out drinking, driving reckless. She hit someone. The person died. The Morrisons came to Derek with desperate faces and empty promises. Claire was pregnant with his child, they reminded him. If he took the fall, they'd get him out in a few months. Once everything died down, they'd pull strings, hire lawyers. He'd be home soon.

Derek believed them. He took the fall. He went to prison.

Three days later, Claire visited him.

“Derek, you idiot, thanks for taking the fall and rotting in prison for me. Let me tell you the truth nothing happened between us that night.”

“The marriage certificate was fake. The pregnancy was a lie to trap you.”

“My family set this whole thing up to make you the scapegoat. You really thought someone like you deserved someone like me?”

“Derek, you loser, stay in prison where you belong.”

She stood there behind the glass, smiling like she'd won something. Derek grabbed the bars, shook them until his hands bled, screaming at her. But she just walked away, laughing.

Prison broke him at first. Other inmates saw him as weak, someone to beat down. They humiliated him, tortured him, made every day a battle just to survive. Two inmates, the Clinton couple, took pity on him. They knew he'd been framed. They looked out for him when they could. Three months later, they were found dead in their cells.

Then something inside Derek shifted. Something old, buried deep in his blood, woke up. His family's ability, dormant for years, surged to life. Power flooded through him, raw and dangerous.

That's when the old man showed up. Wild hair, strange eyes. Other prisoners thought he was insane. But the old man saw what Derek had become. He took Derek under his wing, trained him. The old man was a master medicine, martial arts, acupuncture, ancient healing arts. He taught Derek everything. Derek became the Divine Doctor, a martial arts god, an acupuncture master. Inmates who once bullied him now feared him.

Six months into his sentence, Derek's mother came to visit. She looked older, worn down by life. She sat across from him, her hands shaking.

She told him Megan's has been trying to help him, she has been gathering evidence, talking to people, trying to prove he was framed.

Then he was angry, and sad that Megan would go this far, but then he got into trouble.

She went to see Marcus Patel. She thought he could help, but he wanted to sleep with her in exchange of even listening to help her, but she refused.

Marcus got angry and he assaulted her, he attacked her. Cut her over and over. More than a hundred slashes.

After the assault she was into coma for two months. The scars won't heal. They're everywhere, and it disguised her.

Hearing what had happened then, knowing everything happened because of him, he cried that night. He cried for a week straight, couldn't stop. Guards checked on him, thought he'd lost his mind. But he hadn't. He made a promise to himself, one he carved into his soul.

When he got out, he would make them all pay. Every single person who destroyed Megan, who destroyed him. He would have his revenge.

Now, standing outside the prison in the rain, Derek clenched his fists. “Everyone who hurt me, who hurt Megan, will pay a hundredfold.”

At that moment a black car pulled up through the rain. Sleek, expensive. A Rolls-Royce Cullinan worth nearly ten million. A man stepped out, umbrella in hand, and bowed.

“Master.”

Derek recognized the car logo. Bushman Longting, the richest man in Riverstone City. He built Longting Group from the ground up, turning it into a business empire worth tens of billions.

Derek's voice was flat. “What did the old man say?”

“He instructed me to hand over the chairman position to you when you got out. I'm here to assist you with whatever you need.”

Derek nodded.

“We'll talk about that later. Take me home.”

He hadn't seen his mother or sister in months. His mother's last visit, she looked so tired, so defeated. His sister, Emily, came only once in five years. She was angry, disappointed in him. He didn't blame her. He'd failed them both.

The car raced through Riverstone City, pulling into an old district on the east side. Derek got out and headed toward his building. Rain still fell. Neighbors saw him, whispered, their eyes full of judgment. He didn't care.

Then he heard it. Shouting. Glass shattering. His mother's voice, desperate.

"Smash everything! Grab the crippled girl!"

"Stop! Don't touch my daughter, please!"

"We'll move! We'll leave right now! Just don't hurt her, she's already suffered enough!"

At that moment upon hearing what was going on, Derek couldn't believe what was going on, his heart slammed against his ribs. His blood turned to ice. He sprinted up the stairs.

Inside the apartment, his mother, Linda, was on her knees, begging one of the thugs. Tears streaked her face.

"You stubborn pests, you think you can stand against the Morrison family? We'll teach you a lesson you won't forget."

"Old woman, the boss told us to give your daughter special treatment. She might be crippled, but she's still pretty. She'll be fun."

Immediately the thugs started laughing, their voices thick with cruelty. One of them kicked Linda to the side. She hit the floor hard. Another thug walked toward Emily, who sat frozen in her wheelchair, terror all over her face.

"Get away from me!"

At that moment Emily tried to roll back, but the thug grabbed her, Immediately he yank at her clothes. Then the Fabric tore. Her skin showed, pale and exposed.

Quickly she struggled, tears started spilling down her cheeks, she tried again to break free, but his grip was too strong. His filthy hand reached for her.

Immediately Derek mother quickly ran forward.

“Let's my daughter go!!”

“Slap!!”

The thug boss slap sent her missing her direction.

At that moment the door exploded inward with a deafening crack. Derek stood in the doorway, rage radiating off him like heat. His eyes were bloodshot, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. Immediately killing intent filled the room.

Immediately the thugs turned. One of them squinted at Derek, then started laughing.

"Wait, I know this guy. You're the idiot who went to prison for Claire Morrison, right? Just got out? Well, well."

"Perfect, you came at the perfect time, you want to watch us have fun with your sister? We can make that happen. You can sit right there and—"

"Go to hell!" Derek's voice tore through the room, raw and violent. His eyes burned red. He moved without thinking twice.